Week 5--summer's here and a vacation

Summer must be here--I can't believe how hot it's been! Usually we don't turn on the AC until later in June, but we've had it on for a few weeks now. The pool is up and the kids are getting good use from it when it isn't raining. So far, its been a pretty good summer activity-wise.

If you braved the rain last week, you may have noticed that Bill and I were both not at the market. We haven't taken a typical 2 week summer vacation since we've started farming, but will try to take the kids somewhere warm in the winter months. We had the opportunity to attend a weekend away in St. Louis put on by Bill's employer. It never is easy and Bill got up early on Friday to get everything picked and ready for our substitutes. On the way down, we got caught in a horrible thunderstorm and crawled on the interstate! The rain was incredible and we were amazed at how much water was in creeks, ditches and fields. We were thankful that we haven't had that much rain.

We had some free time on Saturday, so we went to some farmer's markets! Big surprise! The first market we stopped at was the Tower Grove Farmer's Market in Tower Grove park. This market is just starting its 3 year and already has a strong customer base. Since it is still fairly early in the season and many farmers in the area are struggling with weather, there weren't as many vendors at the market as we thought there would be. It's exciting to go somewhere else to see what might be different, but Tower Grove Market isn't much different than ones here in Illinois. The setting is in a small lot in a beautiful city park. There was live music, coffee (!), and tai chi nearby. We made a circuit quickly and got in line for strawberries. Who could pass that up? I chatted with some folks in line and got a cantaloupe smoothie recipe that I'll be sharing later this summer.

Our next stop was Soulard Market. The Soulard Market was established in 1779 and bills itself as the oldest public market west of the Mississippi. The market has a permenant building in the shape of an H with open areas on the legs of the H and year round stores inside the short part. Just about anything goes here; it's quite different than any other market you might find. In this area of St. Louis, there isn't a convenient grocery store near, so the market provides produce that is not locally or producer grown. The purpose of this market is a little different than what we are trying to accomplish in Bloomington or Normal and there are vendors that do grow their own items. Additionally, you can buy knock-off purses, wallets, T-shirts, pictures and other items that may not have any link to food. It's sort of a flea market vibe in one section. There are several meat vendors, flower vendors, one stall with homemade pasta and a pet shop. The highlight is the mini donut stall. The donut maker is set low enough that you can watch your baby donuts make their trip down the oil-way to be dusted in powdered sugar or drizzled with chocolate. There is usually some street entertainment around and people watching is prime.

If your summer plans include St. Louis, besides going to the zoo, arch or ballgame, try to visit one of these markets. More information on both is at www.tgmarket.org and http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/soulardmarket/index.html.

Back home in IL: what will the Mitchell's have this week?

• Head lettuce
• Leaf lettuce
• Red & white radishes
• Green Onions
• Japanese turnips
• Beets
• Zucchini & summer squash

This heat has not been kind to our leafy crops! We've had to say goodbye to the spinach already. These cool weather leafy greens do not like the heat and are starting to go to seed. We will have a little bit of zucchini and summer squash this Saturday, which is very exciting! Squashes are the beginning of the summer items, so this means that tomatoes (salmonella-free!), melons, eggplant and corn aren't very far behind. I didn't ask Bill, but we should be getting some green beans and sugar snap peas very soon as well. I'm sure I'm forgetting other crops, so stop by and see what we have!

I joke about the tomato problems that have been in the national news this week, but really, do you need anymore incentive to eat locally and in season?

As always, we will be at the corner of Main & Jefferson streets, ready when the market opens at 7:30 am! Bring those great re-usable canvas bags and fill them up. Also, leave me a comment--I wonder sometimes if anyone reads this!